Tableau Classroom Drama Activities

Tableau is the theatrical technique in which actors freeze in poses that create a picture of one significant moment in the play. Stillness and silence are the hallmarks of Tableau, so it's understandable why this drama strategy appeals to teachers for classroom use But to really get the most out of Tableau work that enhances the reading of a story, novel, play, or text book, student actors have to do deeper reading, thinking, and rehearsing.

This HOW TO guide gives teachers a detailed approach to leading student actors in the creation of effective, productive, artistic, and meaningful use and extension of Tableau drama strategies.

Tableau with Lines of Dialogue Tableau drama activities can be expanded by the creation and incorporation of dialogue. Learn how to enrich the Tableau drama experience by inviting student actors to create dialogue and deepen the inferences they make about what the characters in a Tableau are thinking and feeling.

Human Slide Shows are series of Tableau-several frozen pictures presented in chronological order to show what happened first, second, third, etc. in a sequence of events. To create the frozen, silent, concentrated poses, students must think like actors and directors who read to understand events and make artistic choices about how to stage the action so that an audience understands or infers what happens.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions, classroom management recommendations, examples from curriculum, reproducible task descriptions, and assessment criteria for use of this arts integrated teaching and learning strategy with students in Grades 3 and up.